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Topic: Gay-a sin? (Read 1311 times)

Is it a sin to be gay in the greek orthodox church? I was just curious because i have been asked by some of my catholic friends. I am not gay and do not support it. Is it wrong to not support them. Is it a sin the be against them and talk bad about them?

Gay sexual acts are a sin in Eastern Orthodoxy. Lusting gay lusts is a sin in Eastern Orthodoxy.

I don't think it would be a sin to talk correctly and teach correctly about gay acts & lusts being sinful. To "talk bad" in a slanderous way would not be right.

Lusting heterosexual lusts is a sin in Eastern Orthodoxy. And outside Orthodoxy. Acts420 twisting to the contrary.

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Question a friend, perhaps he did not do it; but if he did anything so that he may do it no more.A hasty quarrel kindles fire,and urgent strife sheds blood.If you blow on a spark, it will glow;if you spit on it, it will be put out; and both come out of your mouth

Is it a sin to be gay in the greek orthodox church? I was just curious because i have been asked by some of my catholic friends. I am not gay and do not support it. Is it wrong to not support them. Is it a sin the be against them and talk bad about them?

Please help and no rude comments please+

God bless

Christ has risen(Christos anesti)

It is a sin to engage in sexual activity outside of marriage, regardless of which sex you engage with. As to "being against them" I'm not sure exactly what you mean. Also, I would advise not talking bad about anyone. Who someone else is having sex with has absolutely no bearing on your salvation and there is nothing spiritually beneficial in getting worked up over what others do. In this case I think it's best to study yourself and your own sins.

I apologize, because this is an opt-brought up topic, but why, out of the plenitude of sins mentioned explicitly in the Bible, is homosexuality singled out as being particularly egregious? Why doesn't adultery or incest get the same kind of attention?

What do the fathers say about dubious references to homosexuality in the Bible, specifically the new Testament, such as Luke 7:2 ("There a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die")?

I don't think it makes sense to single out homosexuals for your antagonism, even if you do consider them sinners.

Quote from: 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, arsenokoitēs [an ambiguous term that some translate as homosexuals, but others translate as general sexual deviants] , thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers, none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. [emphasis added]

Why not turn your rage to those sinful drunkards? Why not choose not to support those accursed "revilers"? Why not question if it's a sin to be against fornicators and talk bad about them? If you work with others at a place other than a church or monastery, chances are many of your co-workers have had premarital sex; they may even openly reveal this information to you.

Or better yet, why not focus on your own spiritual goals and pray to the god you believe in that all sinners, including yourself, come to repent of their own free will?

I apologize, because this is an opt-brought up topic, but why, out of the plenitude of sins mentioned explicitly in the Bible, is homosexuality singled out as being particularly egregious? Why doesn't adultery or incest get the same kind of attention?

What do the fathers say about dubious references to homosexuality in the Bible, specifically the new Testament, such as Luke 7:2 ("There a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die")?

I don't think it makes sense to single out homosexuals for your antagonism, even if you do consider them sinners.

Quote from: 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, arsenokoitēs [an ambiguous term that some translate as homosexuals, but others translate as general sexual deviants] , thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers, none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. [emphasis added]

Why not turn your rage to those sinful drunkards? Why not choose not to support those accursed "revilers"? Why not question if it's a sin to be against fornicators and talk bad about them? If you work with others at a place other than a church or monastery, chances are many of your co-workers have had premarital sex; they may even openly reveal this information to you.

Or better yet, why not focus on your own spiritual goals and pray to the god you believe in that all sinners, including yourself, come to repent of their own free will?

You realize this ain't WBC.net, right?

Logged

Apart from moral conduct, all that man thinks himself able to do in order to become acceptable to God is mere superstition and religious folly. - Immanuel Kant

I apologize, because this is an opt-brought up topic, but why, out of the plenitude of sins mentioned explicitly in the Bible, is homosexuality singled out as being particularly egregious? Why doesn't adultery or incest get the same kind of attention?

What do the fathers say about dubious references to homosexuality in the Bible, specifically the new Testament, such as Luke 7:2 ("There a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die")?

I don't think it makes sense to single out homosexuals for your antagonism, even if you do consider them sinners.

Quote from: 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, arsenokoitēs [an ambiguous term that some translate as homosexuals, but others translate as general sexual deviants] , thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers, none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. [emphasis added]

Why not turn your rage to those sinful drunkards? Why not choose not to support those accursed "revilers"? Why not question if it's a sin to be against fornicators and talk bad about them? If you work with others at a place other than a church or monastery, chances are many of your co-workers have had premarital sex; they may even openly reveal this information to you.

Or better yet, why not focus on your own spiritual goals and pray to the god you believe in that all sinners, including yourself, come to repent of their own free will?

You realize this ain't WBC.net, right?

I don't understand.... The World Broadcasting Corporation?

But if you're suggesting that stating those opinions are not appropriate here, I can respect that. I realize that in the process of asking questions about how Orthodox authorities deal with passages in scripture, I also inserted my own views. I did not intend to be confrontational, however. I would be glad to hear why some members of religious groups (including the Orthodox Jewish group of which I was once I member), target homosexuals and homosexuality while paying less attention to sinners of other sexual vices.

I apologize, because this is an opt-brought up topic, but why, out of the plenitude of sins mentioned explicitly in the Bible, is homosexuality singled out as being particularly egregious? Why doesn't adultery or incest get the same kind of attention?

What do the fathers say about dubious references to homosexuality in the Bible, specifically the new Testament, such as Luke 7:2 ("There a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die")?

I don't think it makes sense to single out homosexuals for your antagonism, even if you do consider them sinners.

Quote from: 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, arsenokoitēs [an ambiguous term that some translate as homosexuals, but others translate as general sexual deviants] , thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers, none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. And this is what some of you used to be. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. [emphasis added]

Why not turn your rage to those sinful drunkards? Why not choose not to support those accursed "revilers"? Why not question if it's a sin to be against fornicators and talk bad about them? If you work with others at a place other than a church or monastery, chances are many of your co-workers have had premarital sex; they may even openly reveal this information to you.

Or better yet, why not focus on your own spiritual goals and pray to the god you believe in that all sinners, including yourself, come to repent of their own free will?

You realize this ain't WBC.net, right?

I don't understand.... The World Broadcasting Corporation?

But if you're suggesting that stating those opinions are not appropriate here, I can respect that.

No, Westboro Baptist Church. A very militantly homophobic group. One of their favorite slogans is "God hates fags."

I'm saying that most Orthodox Christians that I know do not single out homosexuality as the mother of all sins.

Logged

Apart from moral conduct, all that man thinks himself able to do in order to become acceptable to God is mere superstition and religious folly. - Immanuel Kant

I'm saying that most Orthodox Christians that I know do not single out homosexuality as the mother of all sins.

Please see my updated post. I apologize if I conveyed this opinion; I certainly do not think that the majority of Orthodox Christians, or religious people in general, hold such extreme views. The part after the quote from Corinthians was addressed solely at the OP, who I do not think holds such an extreme view either, but I'd like to understand why he/she focuses on homosexuality.

Does he? He's also made threads on masturbation and atheism. I just haven't encountered the giving of more attention to homosexuality than other sins that you describe in any of my experiences with Orthodox Christians.

Logged

Apart from moral conduct, all that man thinks himself able to do in order to become acceptable to God is mere superstition and religious folly. - Immanuel Kant

Does he? He's also made threads on masturbation and atheism. I just haven't encountered the giving of more attention to homosexuality than other sins that you describe in any of my experiences with Orthodox Christians.

I'm not familiar with the OP's posting history (although I may have read one of his threads unaware that it was his).

But that's fair. Reading things more closely, it does not appear that he's singling out homosexuality; he's really just asking about how he should respond to doctrine questions from his catholic friends. I believe I am projecting my own biases towards Christians. Please forgive me.

I apologize, because this is an opt-brought up topic, but why, out of the plenitude of sins mentioned explicitly in the Bible, is homosexuality singled out as being particularly egregious? Why doesn't adultery or incest get the same kind of attention?

What do the fathers say about dubious references to homosexuality in the Bible, specifically the new Testament, such as Luke 7:2 ("There a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die")?

I don't think it makes sense to single out homosexuals for your antagonism, even if you do consider them sinners.

The answer to your question somewhat depends on what context you are actually referring too. If you are asking about the Orthodox Church as a whole, historically and in Fathers we revere, you are quite correct. Homosexual sin is a subcategory of lust, and treated as such, neither better or worse than heterosexual sin rising from the same basic passion, and not eliciting any additional condemnation or outrage other than the straightforward teaching, that 'well, yeah, it's a sin. just like heterosexual sex outside of marriage."

On the other hand, if you are wondering why it's such a 'popular' topic here, you're not the only one. It seems to be an import from modern Western cultural debate, particularly when people get overly excited about it (one way or another).

For it were better to suffer everything, rather than divide the Church of God. Even martyrdom for the sake of preventing division would not be less glorious than for refusing to worship idols. - St. Dionysius the Great

The Orthodox Church, Greek and otherwise, agrees with the Catholics that homosexual activities are sinful, but that being attracted to people of the same sex is not a sin any more than just being attracted to someone of the opposite sex is a sin.

That said, both Churches would absolutely condemn hatred of any human being, as Christ Himself did. Feel free to oppose homosexual relations; but if by "not support them," you mean "accept harassment and other attacks on gays" then no, it is wrong to "not support them"; and to "be against" and "talk bad about" homosexuals - even those who engage in homosexual relations - is a gross violation of the love of Christ and is sinful itself.